Saffron - Azafran

About 1000 years ago, the Moors brought Saffron to Spain and at one point around 70percent of the worldwide production came from here. Called the "Gold of the Spices", expensive and sought after, Spanish Saffron is well known for being among the best of its kind in the world. Did you know that Saffron is one of the world's most expensive spice by weight and is valued by the colorís depth and the intensity of flavor? One tiny portion will go a long way. The cultivation of the flower (Saffron-Crocus) that this ancient spice is derived from goes back more than 3000 years. Each flower produces three stigmas that need hand picking out of the flower. They are then processed by drying and toasting slightly. An estimated 14,000 stigmas are needed to produce about 25grammes of saffron or around 150,000 crocus flowers to get just one kilo of it, and one kilo takes around 40 hours of manual labour. Saffron's aroma can be described as reminiscent of metallic honey with grassy or hay-like notes, while its taste has also been noted as hay-like and sweet. It also contributes a luminous yellow-orange colouring to foods. So come and enjoy this authentic spice from Spain in your favorite recipe.